INTRODUCTION When I heard about the Brainwanz HM100, the first thing I wanted to know was how closely it related to the HM5. The HM5 was a Yoga OEM clone from the CD-880, which quite a few branded headphone manufacturers used as a base for their own models. This included […]

FiiO is soon to announce their latest pair of IEMs and we have the exclusive. The FA7 features a quad of high-quality Knowles drivers per side, embedded in a 3D printed shell made from high-transparency, medical grade German resin. A variety of shells will be available, each with a nature-based […]

INTRODUCTION I mentioned recently in my review of the Earsonics ES5 that while I’ve reached my own personal end-game nirvana with Headphones (HD800S, HD630VB and Mobius) and desktop set-up (iFi iUSB, iTube and iDSD), I’ve never really settled on a single pair of IEMs. The closest I’ve got have been […]

INTRODUCTION Many of us (who are looking at using more than just our smart-phone for audio) will be looking for solutions for particular circumstances. Personally, I have a desktop set-up mainly centered around an iFi stack (iUSD, iTube, iDSD) – which powers my headphones (HD800S, HD600 + others) as well […]

Hi folks, it’s good to be back! Last time you saw us was when we toured the Audeze factory, and sat down with Sankar Thiagasamudram to discuss the development of high performance planar magnetic headphones. If you haven’t already seen it, please check it out here. We were thrilled with […]

INTRODUCTION Over time, and with the advent of the smart-phone essentially becoming our electronic PA, the ongoing trend has been continuation of a common theme. Thinner, faster, more screen space, more processing power, more storage, better apps, better camera. All of this tends to come at a cost, especially when […]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27Si4Wt8ADM Almost a decade ago now I asked Kingwa (He Qinhua), the owner of Audio-gd about making a version of the headphone amp I had bought from him. He told me that you’d need to put two of them in a large box to do that. However a month later […]

INTRODUCTION Over the years, with more experience slowly gained, I’ve started to refine my audio collection. I realise I have a privileged position because as a reviewer, I often get to try before I eventually buy (through my reviews). And I do buy the gear I intend to keep for […]

INTRODUCTION I’m now a big fan of Bluetooth. Recently offerings such as the FiiO Q5 and iFi iDSD have shown us how good Bluetooth quality can be. More companies are experimenting using Bluetooth for transmission, and then sending the signal to a higher quality DAC for final decoding, thereby not […]

INTRODUCTION My initial introduction to the Advanced Sound Group was only a few months ago with a review of their new GT3 tunable IEM. Fast forward to present day, and they’ve taken the same design, reworked the internals, and released a very different sounding IEM. When Peter Yoon contacted me […]